Enabling poor rural people
to overcome poverty



Rome, 25-26 April 2001

The following projects/programmes were approved by the Seventy-Second Session of the Executive Board:

Africa I (Western and Central Africa)

Sao Tome and Principe: Participatory Smallholder Agriculture and Artisanal Fisheries Development Programme

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR7.95million. The Board commended the description of the lessons learned from previous projects, the discussion of the ongoing land-distribution process and the manner in which gender issues were tackled in the programme. However, the Board did enquire about the absorptive capacity of the country. In this respect, the Board noted that the number of beneficiaries (58000), together with the duration of the programme (12 years), justified the loan amount in terms of loan funds-per beneficiary-per year. In addition, it was mentioned that previous projects were able, on a yearly basis, to disburse amounts above those envisioned for this programme. Other concerns included the need to undertake a debt-sustainability analysis for Sao Tome and Principe, and to ensure that the funds released from the Debt Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries are integrated into activities developed within the context of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Regarding land redistribution, clarification was provided on the steps involved in land reform, which require a long time frame.

 

Asia and the Pacific

Pakistan: North-West Frontier Province Barani Area Development Project

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR 11.15 million and highly commended the project for its partnership with and mobilization of resources from other donors and the Government. The Board emphasized the need to ensure the effective involvement of women and their empowerment.

 

Latin America and the Caribbean

Grenada: Rural Enterprise Project

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR3.25million. In approving this loan for IFAD’s second project in the country, the Executive Board highlighted the need to act cautiously to avoid overloading limited local capacity and recommended close collaboration and coordination with other donor activities in this island state. Special attention was drawn to strengthening IFAD’s collaboration with the development activities financed by Canada.

Honduras: National Programme for Local Development (PRONADEL)

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR15.50million and expressed support for it.

Near East and North Africa

Armenia: Agricultural Services Project

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR 12.35 million and no issues were raised.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Livestock and Rural Finance Development Project

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR9.55 million and few issues were raised. On the issue of concessionality and distribution of the OPEC Fund loan, the terms as specified in the President’s Report are those applied by the OPEC Fund. Thus the IFAD proposal of dividing its loan in a 50-50% ratio instead of 40-60%, as was the case before, is to allow the Republika Srpska to obtain more funding from IFAD in order to compensate for the exclusivity of the OPEC Fund contribution to the Federation. The development initiative fund, a little over 10% of the base costs of the project, will be used exclusively for activities within the project that, after careful evaluation and scrutiny, have shown real potential impact on poverty alleviation and community-based/demand-driven initiatives. With respect to coordination with the World Bank vis-à-vis rural finance, IFAD collaborated with the Bank during project design and will do so during implementation. IFAD’s approach to veterinary services and animal health will be to support the macro-policy intervention as sponsored by the European Union and other bilateral and multilateral organizations. Finally, the Executive Board was informed that, for the first time since the Dayton Agreement, the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina signed a memorandum of cooperation during loan negotiations to cooperate on policy matters regarding animal health, veterinary services and animal breeding.

Grants For Technical Assistance

The following grants were approved by the Seventy-Second Session of the Executive Board:

Technical Assistance Grants for Agricultural Research and Training by CGIAR-Supported International Centres EB 2001/72/R.24

International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM): Community-Based Fisheries Management (CBFM) Programme in South and Southeast Asia

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD 650000.

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT): Programme for Farmer-Participatory Improvement of Grain Legumes in Rainfed Asia

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD 1.30 million.

International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI): Programme for Enhancing the Contribution of Neglected and Underutilized Crops to Food Security and to the Incomes of the Rural Poor

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD 1.41 million.

International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF): Programme for Developing Mechanisms to Reward the Upland Poor of Asia for the Environment Services They Provide

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD1.40 million.


Technical Assistance Grants for Agricultural Research and Training by Non-CGIAR-Supported International Centres EB 2001/72/R.25

International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC): Development of Sustainable Integrated Soil Fertility Management Strategies for Smallholder Farms in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD1.43 million.

International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM): Action-Research Programme on the Identification and Testing of Methodologies and Approaches for Effective Introduction of Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM)

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD1.60 million.


Technical Assistance Grant for the Benefit of the Caribbean Regional Unit for Technical Assistance (CARUTA) for Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago EB 2001/72/R.26

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD753000.

Technical Assistance Grant to the Regional Unit for Technical Assistance (RUTA) for the Rural Financial Services Support Programme (SERFIRURAL) in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama EB 2001/72/R.27

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD750000.

President's Memoranda

The following President’s memoranda were approved by the Seventy-Second Session of the Executive Board:

Nepal: Poverty Alleviation Project in Western Terai (Loan No.452-NP)– Inclusion of New Project Component and Reallocation of Loan Proceeds

The Executive Board approved the recommendation included in the President’s Memorandum to: (i)include an ex-Kamaiya rehabilitation activities component in the Poverty Alleviation Project in Western Terai – PhaseII; and (ii)reallocate loan funds, as appropriate, to provide for inclusion of the new component. The Board noted that the International Labour Organization (ILO) had taken the lead in Nepal in terms of coordinating agency support to the ex-Kamaiyas. It was explained that the proposed new component had been formulated in close consultation with agencies in Kathmandu including the ILO and the World Food Programme, and involved non-governmental organizations. The Board also pointed out that the economic and financial rate of return of the included component was not apparent. It was explained that the brief analysis undertaken during formulation had indicated positive returns. Finally, the Board emphasized the importance of a logical framework (logframe) for monitoring implementation of the new component. It was explained that the details of component implementation, including preparation of a logframe, would be prepared in a participatory manner during implementation.

Sri Lanka/Indonesia: Proposal to Change IFAD Direct Supervision Responsibilities from the Matale Regional Economic Advancement Project (Loan No.493-LK) in Sri Lanka to the Post-Crisis Programme for Participatory Integrated Development in Rainfed Areas (Loan No.539-ID) in Indonesia

The Executive Board agreed to the substitution, in the portfolio of projects directly supervised by IFAD, of the Sri Lanka Matale Regional Economic Advancement Project (Loan No. 493-LK) by the Indonesia Post-Crisis Programme for Participatory Integrated Development in Rainfed Areas (Loan No. 539-ID).

Haiti: Food Crops Intensification Project– PhaseII (Loan No.496-HT)– Extension of Loan Effectiveness

The Executive Board accepted the recommendation to extend the date of effectiveness of loan No.496-HT for the Food Crops Intensification Project–PhaseII in the Republic of Haiti to 10September2001 to allow sufficient time for the conditions for loan effectiveness to be finalized.

Hot links

Read more